Santa Fe Real Estate

We Know Santa Fe Real Estate

Welcome to Knowing Santa Fe — a completely unique proprietary online experience for those looking to buy or sell real estate in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

What makes knowingsantafe.com so unique? It's been crafted to suit the needs of both buyers and sellers with our proprietary Santa Fe Property Explorer, delivering the most detailed information possible about our Santa Fe real estate listings;   land, farms, ranch properties and Santa Fe homes for sale. Not only do we showcase photos of every nook and cranny (literally), but you will “feel” the property — whether you are across the street in Santa Fe, elsewhere in New Mexico or half a world away. Virtual tours, detailed descriptions about finishes and special features, dimensions of rooms, plans and maps of the property, downloadable brochures, and other features are available. We provide you completely free access to the Santa Fe MLS (search here) listings in addition to our extensive internal listings of luxury homes and properties. Because its like no other real estate site you've ever visited, you'll know what to expect before you ever set foot on the property. We guarantee it.

But what makes our practice truly special? Our 30+ years of experience understanding the nuances of the Santa Fe real estate market and helping our clients find the Santa Fe homes, farms, land and ranch properties they are looking for. It's not always easy to navigate the Santa Fe real estate scene. Santa Fe is a unique locale. (Click here for Area Information.) So, if you've lived here for awhile, or are just visiting Santa Fe for the first time, we can be of assistance. As an added bonus, check out the seasonal insider's experience to Santa Fe, NM, as only we can share, 3 Days in Santa Fe, New Mexico — an insider's experience created to introduce you to the Santa Fe we know.

Visit us at http://www.knowingsantafe.com

Do Loan Officers have to be licensed?

Loan Officer Licensing

The initial part of learning how to become a loan officer is determining the loan officer licensing requirements in your state.

Loan officer licensing requirements vary by state. Currently, in many states, loan officer licensing when working for mortgage brokers is required, but not so if for loan officers who work in banks or credit unions.


Recent federal legislation requires that all mortgage loan officers be licensed. Licensing requirements include at least 20 hours of coursework, passing a written exam, passing a background check, and having no felony convictions. There are also continuing education requirements for mortgage loan officers to maintain their licenses. There are currently no specific licensing requirements for other loan officers.




According to  The Bureau of Labor Statistics:

"Employment of loan officers is projected to grow 10 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment growth will be driven by economic expansion and population increases—factors that generate demand for loans. Growth will be partially offset by increased automation that speeds the lending process and by the growing use of the Internet to apply for and obtain loans. However, these changes have also reduced the cost and complexity associated with refinancing loans, which could increase the number of loans originated. 
 
The use of automated underwriting software has made the loan evaluation process much simpler than in the past. Underwriting software allows loan officers—particularly loan underwriters—to evaluate many more loans in less time. In addition, the mortgage application process has become highly automated and standardized, a simplification that has enabled mortgage loan vendors to offer their services over the Internet. Online vendors accept loan applications from customers over the Internet and determine which lenders have the best interest rates for particular loans. With this knowledge, customers can go directly to the lending institution, thereby bypassing mortgage loan brokers. Shopping for loans on the Internet is expected to become more common in the future and to slow job growth for loan officers."

Health Care Reform Realtor Survey by the National Association of Realtors

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Health Insurance Coverage Survey

A randomly selected group of REALTORS® from across the country was given an opportunity to respond to a brief survey about health insurance coverage. Results of the survey are summarized below.

Download a copy (PDF: 98K)

Views About the Health Care System

• Approximately half (51%) of REALTORS® responding to the survey believe that the current health care system is not meeting their needs or the needs of their family.
  
• More than 8 in 10 REALTORS® (82%) believe that the health care system is not meeting the needs of most Americans.
  
• 91% of REALTORS® believe that the U.S. health care systems should be reformed.

Insurance Cost and Coverage

• One in four REALTORS® reported that they had no health insurance coverage.
• Among REALTORS® with insurance coverage, 43% purchased an individual market private plan while 27% were covered under a spouse’s or partner’s insurance plan.
• Among REALTORS® without coverage, 73% reported premium cost as the reason for the lack of coverage; only 15% cited a pre–existing condition as the reason for the costly premium.
• 4% of REALTORS® report being denied Insurance coverage due to pre–existing conditions.
• 63% of REALTORS® with coverage paid the entire premium with an additional 28% sharing the cost of the premium with an employer or other coverage source.
• Coverage most often included hospitalization (96%) and major medical (96%) followed by prescription drug coverage (81%).
• 66% of REALTORS® reported that the firm with which they were affiliated did not offer any type of health insurance coverage.

About the Survery
A 30 question survey was randomly sent to a selected sample of 42,309 REALTORS®. A total of 5,131 responses were received resulting in a response rate of 12.1%. The typical respondent was 51 years old, female (62%) and worked full–time (87%). Nearly two–thirds (63%) were sales agents. Half were affiliated with a firm that had one office.

Foreclosures Rates Leveling Off - Home Sales Nationwide

Foreclosure Rates are leveling off. According to RealtyTrac the foreclosure rate with in January had fallen 10%, with the banks repossessing nearly 79,000 homes. And they fell another 2% in February.

It is too early to tell if this trend will continue, but it is looking optimistic. There are factors to consider in these numbers, like the bad weather effecting court closings or special programs just delaying the process.

Foreclosed homes take a big tole on neighborhoods and the surrounding homes. When these home sell at a great discount, it drops the property value of other homes within miles.

States with the largest foreclosure rates are Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California and Michigan. Followed by Utah, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland.

The metro area with the highest foreclosure rate in February was Las Vegas. along with Modesto, Riverside, San Bernadina, Ontario and Stockton ares in California.

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Sell FSBI instead of FSBO - For Sale by Owner - Flat Fee MLS listing - Discount Real Estate

 Selling your home FSBO - for sale by owner - can save the seller a lot of money.  But you also want to sell your home FSBI - for sale by internet.  Most buyers are home shopping on the internet whether they are working with a Realtor or shopping for their new home on their own.

Instead of FSBO, try FSBI: "For Sale by Internet."

• A FSBI house is one that is actively marketed on the internet
• It has its own website, with great photographs and descriptions
• It is optimized for Google and other search engines
• It will get search engine traffic in the form of people looking to buy a house in the very community where you live.

Flat Fee MLS listing satisfy both the FSBO and the FSBI.  You can avoid paying a commission if there is no other Realtor involved and the MLS is one of the best ways to market your home.

The St. Louis MLS, Maris, syndicates your home to Realtor.com as well as 35 other real estate websites including Yahoo, Trulia, HomeFinder and Zillow.

Every home submitted to the MLS automatically is syndicated no matter which Real Estate Company you use.

Lauralei Properties, llc will list your home on the MLS, Realtor.com and all the other sites pictured for $195 - and you can still sell FSBO and FSBI!

Check out the Lauralei Properties, llc website here....... lauralei.net

Join thousands of REALTORS® around the nation and hold an open house on the weekend of April 10 and 11, 2010.

Encourage your buyers to visit and your sellers to participate. As an added touch you can identify the open house with REALTOR® balloons.

How is this weekend different than any other weekend in April? This is an incredible opportunity for consumers to shop for a new home while:

	• Affordability is good
	• Mortgage interest rates are low (but expected to rise)
	• Good supply of homes on the market
	• The Expanded First-time Homebuyer’s Federal Tax Credit is still available. The contract has to be in place by April 30, 2010.

Eventually, home prices and interest rates will climb, inventory will become scarce and the tax credit will be gone.

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NAR(national association of Realtors) will be helping with this event by:

• Running a blurb in the April issue of REALTOR® Magazine
• Developing a national press release which they will send out April 9
• Promoting via their Facebook, Twitter, etc. accounts

Missouri helps homeowners buy homes with "HOPE" program

The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) at the end of 2009 rolled out an innovative program to help Missouri families buy a house.

Program Details
MHDC is allocating $15 million towards the HOPE program. Qualified Missouri families that purchase a home in 2010 are eligible for a HOPE incentive equaling the amount of the 2009 real estate tax bill associated with the property they purchased, up to a maximum of $1,250. 

Additionally, homebuyers who are approved for the real estate property tax HOPE incentive may also be eligible to receive an additional amount if they bought a qualified, newly-constructed, energy-efficient home or bought an existing home and remodeled or purchased items such as Energy Star^® appliances to make the home more energy efficient. The maximum combined total of the HOPE property tax incentive and the HOPE energy-efficiency incentive is $1,750.
This can be met by doing some remodeling or even purchasing an Energy Star® appliance.  The MHDC website has complete information on the program and can be reached at
http://www.mhdc.com/homes/HOPE/index.htm